KLEM News PM Update March 23, 2011

A total of 100-thousand dollars is available for grants as of July 1st.

Supervisors Don Kass and Jack Guenthner were at the Local Option Sales Tax Advisory Board's first, two-hour meeting this week. Guenthner said there was good discussion.

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Kass reported about 14 of the 32 requests for funds were eliminated. The next meeting of the advisory group is March 28th.

The advisory group makes recommendations for funding to the board of supervisors.

(BRUNSVILLE)--A celebration of a Plymouth County town's heritage will be highlighted Sunday in Le Mars.

Brunsville City Council member Lynn Chenoweth and mayor Steve Dickman will speak about Brunsville at the Plymouth County Historical Museum. Chenoweth received nearly 900 historic images of Brunsville after asking the public for information. He'll present the images during the museum program.

Brunsville celebrates its centennial the last weekend in June. Co-chairs are Peggy Dickman and Nancy Schlichte

A longtime Brunsville resident, Gene Dickman, and a person considered the town's historian, Alvin Willer, will also attend the open house to offer remarks about their community. The program begins at 2 p.m. in the museum's Music Room.

Historic images of Brunsville are part of the preview of the centennial community . The museum will host a birthday party for Brunsville in the "Old Central" Gym's lobby after the program.

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The next centennial event is a Pork Feed and "Minute to Win It" at the American Legion Hall in Brunsville on Saturday, April 2nd.

A freewill offering will be accepted for the Pork Feed from 5:30-7:30. "Minute to Win It," begins at 7:30. Interested contestants may call 533-6441 or 539-0517. They''ll also have a 50-50 raffle and Centennial items will be for sale.

("Minute to Win It" sound courtesy NBC-TV)

(Sioux City)--More than 26-hundred jobs are created in Siouxland through health care offered by two businesses.

The Iowa Hospital Association estimates the economic impact of Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, both of Sioux City, at more than 233-million dollars.

The newly released Iowa Hospital Association report also indicates St. Luke's and Mercy's employees spend nearly 97 million dollars on retail sales and contribute nearly six million dollars in state sales tax revenue.

Mercy's payroll is estimated at 105-million dollars while the pay for St. Luke's is more than 55-million dollars.

The Iowa Hospital Association study found that Iowa hospitals directly employ nearly 71-thousand people and three-point-eight billion dollars in salaries and benefits.

(MOVILLE)--Senator Chuck Grassley has announced the appointment of a northwest Iowa student to a military academy.

According to Grassley, Dylan Bechen of Moville has been selected by the U-S Air Force for admission to the academy in Colorado Springs for the next school year.

Bechen is a senior at Woodbury Central School. He's been active in debate, student tutoring, drama, athletics, has served as class officer and is a member of the National Honor Society.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The National Weather Service says no deaths or severe injuries were reported from the tornadoes sighted in western and central Iowa.

A weather service meteorologist in Des Moines says up to five tornadoes were being investigated.

Officials say a tornado spotted Tuesday near Creston and Winterset were all but certain to be confirmed, as were reports of twisters in Adair County and Osceola.

The most severe damage reports are coming from Winterset. Farmers and other owners of rural property say outbuildings and trees were knocked down or heavily damaged.

Hail reaching the size of golf balls damaged siding and roofs and broke windows in Logan and other towns.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Republican officials say Donald Trump will address the party's Lincoln Day dinner as part of his first foray into Iowa as a possible presidential contender.

The New York billionaire and reality TV figure has already announced plans to visit New Hampshire in June.

Strawn says the Iowa party invited Trump so he could introduce himself to Iowa Republicans. He noted Trump's success as an ``entrepreneur and job creator.''

Trump has said he will decide by June whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination.

AMES, Iowa (AP) The Iowa Board of Regents is expected to increase tuition at the state's three public universities by 5 percent to offset dwindling state aid.

The regents are meeting at Iowa State University in Ames. It's anticipated they will approve the tuition increases recommended by the universities' presidents.

If approved, tuition for in-state undergraduate students at the University of Iowa would increase $308 and $306 at Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa to more than $6,400 per year at each school.

University presidents have said the increase is needed to maintain the quality of education after several years of state budget cuts.

The presidents also recommended double digit increases for some programs university officials say are more expensive to deliver.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) The company that supplies water to residents in Davenport and nearby areas is planning to build a levee to protect its treatment plant from Mississippi River floodwaters.

An Iowa American Water spokeswoman says the company was concerned about one worst-case scenario prediction showing the river could crest above 27 feet. That's five feet above the plant's seawall.

The company will hire a contractor to build a 2,000-foot earthen levee around three sides of the plant. The work will begin after the National Weather Service issues an updated forecast for flooding Thursday so the company knows how high to build.

The plant takes water from the Mississippi River and cleans it. Officials say the company will do what it takes to protect the water supply.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A state audit says an Iowa agency failed for four years to inspect some fuel pumps and the fuel they were pumping.

According to a news release from the office of the Iowa State Auditor, the Weights and Measures Bureau is responsible for monitoring accuracy of pumps. The agency is required by state and federal regulations to check fuel quality and content.

The audit covered July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2009.

Among other things, the audit found that the bureau annually inspected only 60 to 75 percent of the stations. Iowa code requires every state be inspected.

The release says bureau staffers said there weren't enough of them to do all the required work.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) The former manager of the North Iowa Fair has been fined $200 and ordered to pay court costs for her misdemeanor theft conviction.

The Mason City Globe Gazette says Wanda Kruse, of Rockwell, was sentenced on Tuesday. The court costs totaled more than $520.

The 51-year-old Kruse had been charged with a felony, second-degree theft. Investigators say she had more than $3,000 worth of property at her home, allegedly purchased with fair board money. But in February the jury decided her theft total was no more than $200.

Judge Stephen Carroll had ruled that the jury couldn't consider evidence regarding Kruse's family members being paid without having worked at the fair.

Before her sentencing, Kruse repeated that she was innocent and said she gave her all for the fairgrounds.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) The Iowa attorney general has ordered a case review of an Ankeny couple who got an almost-free home because the wife didn't sign mortgage documents.

The Des Moines Register says Jamie Danielson didn't sign papers for the home she and Matt Danielson bought in spring 2007. After Matt Danielson's business soon failed, the couple went to court to try to keep the home after learning Iowa law requires the voiding of mortgages that aren't signed by both spouses. The Danielson's won their case.

The Iowa Finance Authority filed a complaint after Jamie Danielson applied for a mortgage broker's license. The authority says Jamie Danielson had worked on a relative's mortgage that was voided in 2006 because of a missing signature.

Matt Danielson acknowledged on Tuesday that he and his wife had known about the relative's mortgage case.